Question about not having SORNed my bike :p

[Bomberman]

Lo all ,
Not posted in ages as I've been travelling Back and stuck in Britain for the forseeable future and even worse I'm in Manchester
Anyway, got my bike back (TZR125) out of storage and bugger me if it didn't start second kick This is after 6 months of sitting Not bad, so time to get it back on the road.
Which is where I finally get to the point. The tax ran out in September and not being in the country I totally forgot/didn't care. Also didn't help that the bastard who moved into my flat appears to have just been destroying my mail So how do I go about getting it taxed? And are they likely to give me loads of shit/fine for not SORNing it?
Cheers
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'Allo! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!
'89 TZR 125 - '94 GPZ500s - ZK3 GSXR600 Alstare

[Steve H]

Welcome Back

Personally I'd just tax it and just wait to see if the letter came through asking why it's been off the road an unSorn'd for such a long period of time.

It would appear that DVLA are terribly inconsistent when it comes to tracking Off Road Notification (My Dad hadn't Sorn'd his bike for a period of 6 months and just taxed it without any problems at all) so you might get lucky.


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Mellow Yellow
The BCF Top TEN - 2010, 2009, 2008, The Original.

[Ichy]

I really do hate SORN, I can't see what benefit it is to anyone. They know if I haven't taxed my bike so why do I need to tell them? If I'm going to ride around without any tax then filling out a bit of paper isn't going to stop me. Where is the justice in being fined for not telling them something they already know?

Sorry no help at all. Think its time for another 'special' package, where's my wire cutters gone........

[MattEMulsion]

[stinkwheel]

Well, they've just sent me a threatning and deceiptful letter from a debt recovery company, arrived today, implying I've comitted a criminal offence and to expect baliffs knocking at my door. My bike was only off the road for six weeks.

Well, it is a civil, not a criminal offence and they can't send baliffs round without taking me to court (which they have not yet done). They're not getting a penny out of me on general principle without a court appearance, which I fully mean to attend in person as is my right.

If they want to enforce such a rediculous piece of legislation, they're going to have to do it properly. As far as I'm concerned, I've not been found guilty of anything so how the hell can I owe them a fine?

I'll probably land up paying the fine to the clerk of the court on the day at a higher rate but I'm fucked if I'm going to just send them a cheque.

[scoota bk]

Funnily enough I was running all my registrations through the DVLA online enquiry earlier today and noticed one has been unlicensed/unsorned since september. Turns out that the tax/sorn ran out on the day I bought the bike (using the term loosely, it's a frame and some parts), so never received a letter for it. Anyway I sorned it online and a warning came up:

"we notice there was a period where it was unlicensed blah blah"
"it is an offence to not licence or declare sorn"

"the DVLA continuous licence enforcment centre may be in contact with you"
Great

IMO it's fucking ridiculous that you can get fined for simply forgetting to tell them that a registration is still sat in a rotting pile outside your shed

[Kickstart]

Hi

The are very inconsistant. Maybe they just loose the internal mail from one department telling another to chase you (would fit in with their general efficiency).

What they are likely to do is send you letters, and eventually take you to court for non payment of the charge (note it is not a fine, as only a court can impose a fine). Likely that the court they choose to take you to will be local to their office and nowhere near you.

Their aim seems to be to scare you into paying up on the threat that you will have a CCJ against your name.

Personally I couldn't agree more with Ichy. It is a totally useless scheme.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Squiffy_The_Wombat]

[stinkwheel]

Well, they appear to have sold my "debt" to a debt recovery firm in Glasgow called JB Debt recovery. The latest letter was NOT from the DVLA.

Perhaps this is a new development? Maybe costing them too much to collect so they've farmed it out?

[Ichy]

[stinkwheel]

It's actually less at the moment oddly. They were trying to charge me for "Tax arrears" too initially (ie, two months worth of tax for when it was off the road). They are now only after the £80, not that they're getting it.

Dinnae worry about me, I earn enough now to be able to take a principled stand on this issue. I bet it costs them more than it costs me.

Who knows, if I'm in a really obstreperous mood at the time, I might even hire a solicitor to represent me and instruct him to make life as difficult as possible for them.

My bet is that they count on nobody turning up for the hearing which is then essentially a 'rubber stamp' exercise found in their favour and that they don't actually bring all the paperwork with them.

[WATCHOUT!]

WOOOOOOO WOOOOOOO WOOOOO

The computer can see you!!!

Did the tax expire while you were outside the country? In that case you might be able to make a case based on the stamps in your passport. You know, in {INSERT NAME OF COUNTRY} they don't have the internet yet.....

[Bomberman]

[SoulRider]

[stinkwheel]

[map]

Please keep us informed stinkwheel as I too think this stinks.
My partner got caught out by this and ended up paying £100 to keep the bailiffs from the door (scared her a bit, which I think was the intention). I didn't vote for the government to scare it's own citizens. Makes them look like back street thugs demanding money with menaces.

IMO if they send you a reminder for the road tax then they should send you a reminder for SORN. To do otherwise is inconsistent. Either do both or do none. As it stands it looks like a trick to get money out of normally honest (for having declared sorn in the first place) people.


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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Pete.]

I didn't SORN a bike I bought, that was already under SORN by the previous owner because I didn't at the time realise if it changed ownership it had to be re-SORN'd. I sold the bike on (to my sister) and told her to be sure to SORN it, and expected to get a bill for £80, but nothing has come of it to date.. The logbook was put in my name right away so they knew I had it etc. I guess I got lucky.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Bomberman]

[map]

[st3v3]

Good luck Stinkwheel.
I too may be looking at a court date from them soon clicky and that didn't have owt to do with SORN, chances are, if they can try and screw money out of you, they will give it their best shot.

P.S, was/is it taxed?
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Roger wrote: Women don't get damp for clingy puppies. Get some better happy pills, hit the gym & buy a medallion the size of a dinner plate. Job done

[Kal]

[stinkwheel]

Aye, it's taxed now. It was taxed as soon as it got an MOT which took about six weeks from when the last tax ran out.

This six week delay occurred due to some silly fool forgetting to fit a split pin on the back brake torque arm . This in turn resulted in the whole rear brake assembly wrapping itself four times round the wheel spindle on its way to the original MOT.

It wasn't used during the intervening period due to it having no back brake or left hand footpeg hanger.

[Kickstart]

[MattEMulsion]

The DVLA are basically a waste of space and just another incompetent civil service department. Rumour has it that the letter bomb that they received the other week was actually sent back in 1999. It has just been sitting in that room they have with the huge pile of mail that they choose to loose and then find at random along with all the registration documents and driving licence applications etc.
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Yamaha YZF-R6